Integrated urban microclimate assessment method as a sustainable urban development and urban design tool

In the past decades, urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon in the city and its corresponding issues including the mitigation methods have become the main research topics in the area of urban climatology. Researchers have conducted various investigations and measurements in the urban environment. Prediction models such as impact mitigation strategies, urban air temperature predictions, improved weather forecasting and air quality forecasting have been developed as a result. With the current issue of sustainable urban development in the cities, urban planners are beginning to look into different aspects of urban climatic parameters and incorporate them as the design parameters. However, it is rather difficult for the planners to attempt to design without engaging the urban climate scientists. Presently, Geographical Information System (GIS) is a platform commonly used in various geographical related research and applications, including those relating to urban climate research, as it can be used to analyze different urban climatic parameters. Although it is, by all standards, an appropriate urban design tool, urban planners tend not to embrace this technology. This paper shall present an idea to overcome this challenge by means of developing a user friendly urban design platform that takes after GIS. This paper will also discuss the plan for advancement of the urban design tool from the current situation to the future.     

“Not a Lot of People Read the Stuff”: Australian Urban Research in Planning Practice

At the 2013 State of Australian Cities (SOAC) Conference, a dedicated plenary session examined the blunt prospect of “Who cares about Australian Urban Research?” One group apparently not reading, or not making extensive use of, urban research is Australian urban planners. Drawing on interviews and focus groups undertaken for a recent research project, in this paper we examine the nature of the research-practice Relationship in an Australian urban planning context. We explore the limited extent to which practitioners engage with research outputs; and the entrenched barriers to research to practice information exchange. While our interviews indicate planners are concerned about the lack of a solid research base with which to underpin many policies, assumptions and decisions; we find that time-poor professionals largely rely on popular media, industry publications and practice networks to inform decision making. Further, the political and reactive environment of planning practice means the role for evidence in consensus-driven decision-making is fraught and far from clearly defined. Ultimately the project highlights the extent to which the resources required to digest research, interpret its local significance, and apply it to practice can be underestimated.     

Seven Principles of Strong Climate Change Planning

Abstract

As greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts increase worldwide, there is an urgent need for communities, and thus urban planners, to simultaneously mitigate and adapt to climate change. We synthesize recent research to examine whether the field of planning is adequately addressing climate change. We conclude that although there has been progress in recent years, it is insufficient given the scope of the climate change challenge and the myriad ways climate impacts negatively affect communities. We argue for seven principles of strong climate change planning: 1) clear goals; 2) strong fact base; 3) diverse strategies; 4) public participation; 5) coordination across actors, sectors, and plans; 6) processes for implementation and monitoring; and 7) techniques to address uncertainty. For each of these principles we discuss the current state of research and practice.     

Hot,congested, crowded and diverse: Emerging research agendas in planning

This special issue explores emerging research agendas in planning. It brings together scholars from diverse schools working on new areas of research and application in urban design and planning. Emergent research agendas include both novel areas of research and important shifts in the direction of a research area. The challenge for planning schools is to reflect critically on these changes and develop long-term research agendas that can better position our field in society and academia, and provide a basis from which to assess our academic programmes. The chapters presented in this issue reinforce key aspects of planning: multi-scale, and multi-faceted, yet integrative in its intent, stressing the physical, yet inescapably social. At the same time, they identify research areas that respond to major social and environmental changes. Blanco and Alberti focus on the latest findings in climate change science and on planning for adaptation; they highlight the opportunities that planners have to provide leadership in this area. Forsyth, Krizek and Rodríguez take up the issue of non-motorised travel, a topic of increasing interest for urban designers, public health experts and transportation and energy planners. For Talen and Ellis, an emerging challenge is the need to plan for diverse and compact communities. What social factors, policies, programmes and planning processes facilitate compact and diverse communities?     

Adaptation Planning and Hazard Mitigation for Interdependent Infrastructure Systems to Enhance Urban Resilience Under Climate Change

Climate change and natural hazards have created multiple impacts on human settlements. Urban planning and design are effective tools in dealing with climate adaptation and mitigation issues. However, climate risk and its impacts are multiscale and complex due to interdependence between urban infrastructure systems. Identifying adaptation strategies to cope with these impacts requires planners to understand potential interdependent and interrelated consequences of infrastructure failure under natural hazards, and evaluate cascading and cumulative effects of climate change. This article discussed opportunities and challenges to incorporate interdependent social and physical infrastructure systems in the adaptation planning and hazard mitigation process, including climate hazard assessment, adaptation goal identification, adaptation strategy development, and implementation. The availability of urban big data and high computational resources will enable urban planners and decision-makers to better deal with those complex impacts from climate change and natural hazards. Successful adaptation planning and hazard mitigation for interdependent infrastructure systems also needs to solve issues in uncertainties of climate projection, institutional barriers of adaptation, and challenges of urban big data. Potential solutions to these challenges would include cooperation among multi-disciplinary experts, coordination between different levels of governments, and developing the ethical framework for data protection and robust methodologies to detect and reduce data bias.     

廊道网络指数评价方法在绿地系统规划中的应用

由于城市绿地指标（绿地率和人均绿地指标等）受城市边界的主观性和可变性以及城市中绿地空间分布的影响而有重大差异,这些指标不足以衡量城市绿地的环境质量和生态功能。在绿地系统规划中,规划人员往往根据主观意见、服务半径分析等简单方法确定现状城市绿地分布存在的问题,缺乏对城市绿地生态服务功能的研究。规划研究缺乏数理研究方法的支撑,缺乏理性判断依据。为此,笔者提出利用景观生态学廊道网络指数作为衡量城市绿地系统功能的评价方法,该方法在规划前期研究和方案对比工作中特点突出,增强了规划方案的针对性和科学性。     

Research on Urban Carbon Emission Inventory and Its Application in Planning

This paper systematically reviewed related studies on urban carbon emission inventory, and especially analyzed current studies on the urban greenhouse gas inventory in China. Through comparative studies of four cases, it systematically discusses the application of urban carbon emission inventory in low carbon urban planning as a response to climate change, it thus concluded that city planners in China have duty-bound obligations and responsibilities to apply low carbon ideas into urban and regional planning, and the in-depth study on greenhouse gas emission inventory is undoubtedly of great significance and scientific value to mitigate climate change.     

从远景规划到概念规划

城市发展战略的研究和规划、从国外到国内,从上世纪末的远景规划到本世纪初的“概念规划”,一脉相承,并随着经济社会的发展和变革不断发展,概念规划是在竞争年代下一个战略研究的创新。城市规划应包括四个层面:城市研究、城市规划、城市设计、城市管理,而城市发展的战略研究,正是加强了城市研究,这种高层次的研究工作,对城市发展发挥了纲举目张的作用,它并不企图取代城市总体规划,而是更丰富了城市规划内容和完善城市规划的体系,对城市规划工作者也是一种知识更新的挑战。     

谈历史文化名城的城市色彩规划

通过阐述城市色彩的概念及现状,提出色彩设计对城市特色塑造的重要性,并对城市色彩设计的原则与技法步骤进行了分析,以提高历史文化名城的城市色彩规划水平,可供城市规划设计者参考。     

Critical Unresolved Problems of Urban Planning Analysis

Sound city planning requires a valid theoretical and analytical base. But our present knowledge of the functioning of urban organisms and their analysis for planning purposes does not justify the operational pretensions of city planning practitioners, nor the academic claim that city planning is as yet an intellectual discipline and prospective science. In the United States, development of the foundation of fundamental knowledge for sound city planning has been subordinated to strengthening the superstructure of professional practice.

Emulating the paper “Mathematical Problems” presented by David Hilbert at the turn of the century, twenty-three critical unresolved problems of urban planning analysis are identified and explained briefly. City planners are aware of most of these problems separately, but the importance of their resolution warrants collective statement. When these problems are resolved, urban planning will be established as a foremost field of knowledge deserving universal application.     

Are we planning for resilient cities in Ghana? An analysis of policy and planners' perspectives

This paper sets forth a set of four principles that define and operationalise the concept of urban resilience. Using these four principles, 105 registered planners with the Ghana Institute of Planners were interviewed and five most recent and relevant national planning documents (four legislation, and one policy) were evaluated to determine how well planning practice advances resilience planning. Findings indicate limited appreciation of the concept amongst planners, despite the national planning documents stating an intention to integrate urban resilience. In addition, these national planning documents do not provide balanced support for all four urban resilience principles, as they advance some principles significantly more than others. More importantly, there is a disconnect between these national planning documents on the one hand, and planning practice on the other, as planning actions are not consistent with the legislation and policies. This paper recommends education of planners on urban resilience issues, credentialing of the concept in the local context, and reconsideration of international agencies' role in resilience planning in Ghanaian cities.     

夏热冬冷地区城市广义通风道规划探析——以武汉四新地区城市设计为例

通过对夏热冬冷地区气候特征、城市热岛效应、城市环境与城市能耗的分析,从气候学、生态学、景观学与城市规划相互结合的角度,提出城市广义通风道的概念及其构成.在此基础上,借助于计算机城市风场模拟等实验手段,分析了大尺度,复合型城市通风道利用自然风和水体绿化的传输、蒸散功能,促进城市通风排热、缓解热岛效应、改善微气候的工作原理以武汉四新地区城市设计为例,探讨了城市广义通风道的规划方法与实施策略.     

国外城市规划潮流的变化与城市规划师的培养教育

八十年代以后，世界各国的城市规划体系相继发生了变化，对城市规划师具备的能力提出了新的要求。城市规划是一个涉及社会科学、人文科学与自然科学等广泛领域的学科，规划师的队伍不只限于工学出身的规划师，还应由地理学、环境学、城市经济学、城市社会学、行政学、法学等文理科出身的规划师组成。关于城市规划师的培养教育途径，应考虑建立包含多学科的城市规划教育体系及规划师的继续教育制度。     

The use of urban climatology in local climate change strategies: a comparative perspective

This paper discusses the extent to which the science of urban climatology has informed local climate change strategies in four city case studies – Stuttgart, Tokyo, New York City, and Manchester. The paper draws on historical and contemporary policy documents along with 60 interviews with practitioners, city officials, politicians, and academics in order to understand the use or non-use of urban climatology science in local climate change strategies. It explores the historic successes and failures of urban climate management of the cities and how the impact of global climate change and perception of risk, local competency and capacity, national programmes, and the involvement of cities in networks influences the application, stabilization, and institutionalization of urban climatology into climate change strategies. It concludes by highlighting the high levels of variability present and potential reasons for local policy engagement or non-engagement in the use of urban climatology science.     

城市规划学科的发展方向

从西方城市规划学科和行业面临的严重困境出发,讨论了中国城市规划学科在蓬勃发展的城市建设背景象下潜伏的危机.指出目前中国的城市规划学科的核心理论的空心化,理论创新的惰性化以及理论研究阵地的孤立化问题,提出中国的城市规划学科与国际城市规划学界处在不同的发展阶段上,但同样面临着从一个相关学科引入"规划中的理论(Theory in Planning)"为主导的发展阶段,进入一个以人居空间研究为中心核心研究对象,建构新一代的"规划本位理论(Theory of Planning)"为主线的理论体系创新的新的历史性时期.文章进一步讨论了城市规划理论界未来进行理论突破的重点方向,进而指出中国规划理论学界必须结合1)资源和能源供应极限的环境特征;2)高强度城镇化的区域特征;3)全球化背景下竞争性的动力特征;4)社会结构历史性转型的人群特征;以及5)信息网络新科技引起的空间聚散特征,回归城乡空间规划对应时代特征的空间复合意义的扎实研究,在提供对中国的城镇化和城市发展实践强有力的理论指导的同时,也完成对国际城市规划理论体系新一轮构建的贡献.     

Shaken,shrinking, hot,impoverished and informal: Emerging research agendas in planning

This is the second of two special issues in Progress in Planning exploring emerging research agendas in planning. It brings together scholars from diverse schools working on new areas of research and application in urban design and planning. Emergent research agendas include both novel areas of research and important shifts in the direction of a research area. The challenge for planning schools is to reflect critically on these changes and develop long-term research agendas that can better position our field in society and academia, and provide a basis from which to assess our academic programmes. The chapters in this issue display the different scales and fields of planning, including planning for: disaster recovery; climate change, especially opportunities for mitigation; shrinking cities in the First World; and rapidly urbanising informal and impoverished cities in the global South. At the same time, the chapters identify research areas that respond to major social and environmental changes. Olshansky and Chang highlight the increasing losses from catastrophic disasters, and address the need for disaster recovery planning. Wheeler, Randolph and London focus on climate change, and, noting the urgency of action now, their research agenda emphasises opportunities for planners to develop research and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hollander, Pallagst, Schwarz and Popper look at increasing economic and population trends in many First World cities that result in city ‘shrinkage’. They present new opportunities for improving cities’ green space networks and natural features, and for research. The trebling of urban population in African cities by 2050, in conditions of poverty and informality, is the major trend driving Parnell, Pietriese and Watson's chapter. They present an agenda for new planning theories and for supporting empirical research to address the actual conditions of African cities.     

Placemaking and climate change adaptation: new qualitative and quantitative considerations for the “Place Diagram”

Today, although most of the international research community considers climate change adaptation to be essential, there is limited knowledge on its concrete integration with contemporary placemaking. Yet, with the emergence of the adaptation agenda, the effects of urban climatology are continually coercing the need for concrete action to increase the climatic responsiveness of urban environments. This article is constructed upon a “Research for Design” approach, and focuses upon improving urban design guidelines by reviewing existing theoretical/empirical research on how pedestrian comfort levels can be addressed through public space design. The objective is to incorporate such qualitative and quantitative interrogations into a generic tool such as the “Place Diagram” by the PPS. A total of six intangible criteria, and six measurable attributes, are explored and structured in order to introduce new generic design considerations which can contribute to the responsiveness of urban outdoor spaces in an era of expected climate variability.     

Major Projects in Central Sydney

Major urban development projects are capturing the imagination–and provoking the ire–of different sections of the public, including urban planners and researchers. Cranes on the skyline, a strong construction industry and the visible evidence of a future city coming into being all attract some people. Others criticize the nature of commercial property development; its location and scale, its impact on urban design, its lack of relation to strategic planning and the apparent tendency of governments to be lenient will approvals or creative with legislative bypasses.     

From the Cold War to the warmed globe: planning,design-policy entrepreneurism,and the crises of nuclear weapons and climate change

Faced with two existential threats – nuclear war and climate change – planners have responded by proposing sweeping reforms for city-regions, often deploying the newfound rationales to re-package earlier ideas about ‘the good city’. This paper analyses how mid-twentieth-century planning discourses regarding Cold War urban dispersal in the USA might help us understand contemporary conversations about urban climate change adaptation. We apply Kingdon's Multiple Streams Analysis and his concept of policy entrepreneurs to show how planners frame problems and shape policy agendas. We propose a subtype of ‘design-policy entrepreneurs’ who use the spatial and visual tools of planning and design to advocate for preferred policies. By analysing the rhetoric and visual representations made by planners and designers from 1945 to 1965, we examine how they repurposed long-standing ideas about urban deconcentration into ‘dispersal for defence’ proposals. Such proposals for dispersing urban settlements into separated and ‘self-contained’ units received a dysfunctional partial acceptance: housing and transportation legislation embraced the dispersal part but resisted the complementary elements aimed at limiting damages from nuclear attack by concentrating development into distinct nodes. We conclude by asking how the perils of such partial policy-making success might play out on the terrain of climate change adaptation.     

武汉地区住宅小区风环境的数值模拟分析

风,作为城市气候环境的一个重要组成部分,它和热环境、声环境、光环境并列,是规划建筑环境设计的一项主要内容。群体建筑的风环境研究是建筑学、城市规划、城市气候学和环境保护等学科领域共同探讨研究的课题之一。本文结合武汉市实际情况,运用Airpak软件的RNGk-ε湍流模型进行风环境的数值模拟,研究得出不同高度类型的住宅小区的风环境状况,从构建良好风环境的角度为住宅小区规划设计提供了一定的参考依据。